Cherries In The Peach Garden
by Shinigami Yumi
Summary: In the aftermath of the cases that brought them back together, Miles Edgeworth and Phoenix Wright recall a promise of solidarity from long ago as they rethink their lives' direction. Some spoilers for the first and second game.


**A/N:** I blame Meinarch for discussing Musou while I'm playing Ace Attorney. XD That said, this is my first Ace Attorney fic, and I'm trying out a different style again. Wow, me, gen fluff; would you believe this day has come? LoL. Thank you very much for reading and please tell me what you think about it!

* * *

**Cherries In The Peach Garden**

Fall 2001

_They had not been friends for very long, but time was merely a relative concept as it were, so Miles Edgeworth didn't think it should matter. He smiled slightly as his new friends, Phoenix and Larry, chatted excitedly beside him about the latest development in that popular cartoon they both watched. They had made playing in the park after school till sundown a bit of a ritual, and it was the only time Miles was ever seen acting even vaguely his age or doing something besides reading, studying or listening to classical music. Just as they'd arrived at the park, Larry proudly displayed his latest toy, assumingly a figurine of some character in that same cartoon. Then suddenly, it was out of his hands; Phoenix was tearing off into the middle of the park at top speed, laughing, and Miles was suddenly alone under the cherry tree at that corner._

"_Give it back!!" Larry shouted, chasing after the other boy._

_Miles just leaned against the tree and watched with his arms crossed, lips slightly quirked in an amused smile. Phoenix had a good head start, but he would soon tire, and Larry had always been the more athletic of the two. Just then, he found an orange plastic figurine in his hand a moment before a mass of tangled limbs landed on the ground before him with a painful thud._

"_Miles, go! Run!!"_

_He only had the time to raise an eyebrow because just as suddenly as it had appeared, the figurine was gone from his hands, and Larry stood triumphantly over the fallen Phoenix with a grin, figurine safely back in hand._

"_Gotcha!"_

_The spiky haired boy picked himself off with a huff and dusted some grass off his clothes before tiredly plodding over to lean against the tree beside him and throw a sweaty arm around his shoulders._

"_God, Miles… You fail."_

"_And you need to grow up," he retorted, wondering why he didn't mind the dampness that would cling to his clothes or the smell of sweat mingled with the scent of newly cut grass carried in the cool autumn breeze._

_He felt more than saw Phoenix roll his eyes, but before he could reply, a hand had pulled his magenta bowtie off._

"_Hey!" he protested, too late._

_Before he could snatch it out of the dark-haired boy's hand, it had been tossed to Larry who ran off a good distance with it, grinning mischievously._

"_Loosen up, Edgy!!" the blond shouted back, laughing all-too-cheerfully._

"_He's right, Edgy" Phoenix drawled teasingly, chortling along beside him._

"…"

"_Well, come on!" The boy beside him tugged at his arm lightly, moving in front of him with a sunny smile that was half a stupid grin. The sun was behind him, illuminating his silhouette like an aura of gold, and Miles wondered when he'd forgotten to inhale._

_He blinked, slightly confused._

"_You're not going to get it back just standing there, you know… Come on!!"_

_And then Phoenix was holding his hand, and he found himself clasping onto that warmth, breaking into a run to allow himself to be led along._

"_Hey, return that!" he yelled, hiding a smile as his new friend laughed happily beside him, and they tore after Larry hand in hand._

* * *

28th December 2016

They had gone from a feast at the Gatewater Hotel to celebrating at a nearby bar. Maya had left early, being underage, and he was beginning to wish he'd done the same. The music was killing him with a headache, and Miles Edgeworth was pretty sure the beer tab would kill his wallet as soon as he got it. He now deeply regretted insisting on paying for what was supposed to be a celebration of his acquittal. He should have known this would happen, what with the "friends" involved in the festivities. Phoenix, Larry, Gumshoe and Lotta were going through just about every drinking game in existence, and they were now on the infamous beer pong.

As it happened, Lotta turned out to be exceptionally good at this game –he figured a photographer probably had great need for good balance and a steady hand, after all- and was the reigning champion. Gumshoe… was doing his profession no justice at all. He hadn't won a single round against the Southerner…or anyone else for that matter. As for his old friend and courtroom rival, who seemed to make quite the happy drunk, he would probably be outdoing Gumshoe very soon, if that sway to his step as he stumbled over to let Larry take his place was of any indication.

Phoenix practically fell onto him on the seat of their booth, reeking of beer, cheap cologne and the cheap cigarette smoke that permeated the air in every nook and cranny of the establishment. Ordinarily, the stench should have disgusted him, but he wasn't finding it offensive at present moment. Still laughing hysterically, the defense attorney lost his balance slightly and somehow ended up with his head in his rival's lap. If there was any problem with that, Phoenix Wright certainly didn't see it, since he made no move to remedy his position. As it were, the only problem the prosecutor could find was that he was inexplicably fighting down a blush. It was probably about time he left.

"Wright…"

Suddenly, Phoenix looked serious, and a hint of concern crept into those piercing blue eyes. "Edgeworth… Are you well?" he asked softly. Maybe the man wasn't all that inebriated after all.

Miles wondered if he was actually blushing at that point and hoped fervently that either he wasn't or the dim lighting would hide it. Thankfully, the others were all too busy to notice this turn of events.

Before he could explain himself though, the usual silly grin broke onto the other's face. "Oh yeah… You must be tired after today…"

Seizing his chance, Miles quickly agreed. "Yes, Wright, I believe I should be leaving now."

The other lawyer sat up slowly at that. "Sure, I'll te—"

"No," Miles said firmly, stopping his rival with a hand on the shoulder. "You all go ahead and continue without me."

"But it's y—" Phoenix stopped, seeming to sense his discomfiture. "What's wrong?"

Of course, he was gripping his elbow again; it was hard not to tell that he was uncomfortable, but he didn't mind Wright knowing. Such trivial matters couldn't hold a candle to what the attorney had already unearthed about him. He figured he should take that girl's, Maya's, advice about saying thank you properly, at least, before he left for the night, but perhaps in a more dignified manner. He glanced at the rest of the crowd briefly, glad for what little privacy the distance afforded them in case he made a fool of himself again. It was awkward; he really wasn't accustomed to sincere expressions of gratitude and such.

"Wright… Th—"

Two fingers touched gently to his lips to silence him in what felt like an entirely too intimate gesture. "It's alright. I know. You don't have to." That usually loud voice was quiet with understanding.

"I…" he tried to protest, but was interrupted again.

"If you really want to thank me, come to the old place tomorrow once everything's been wrapped up."

And then, the other was laughing heartily again as Larry was wholly trumped by Lotta at the game that he was now jogging back to join, and Miles hastily made his exit before anyone could notice or stop him.

* * *

Fall 2001

"_Oof!"_

_THUD._

_Phoenix Wright couldn't fathom how playing Monkey with a bowtie had ended up with him lying in the grass with a sore back and a rather disoriented Miles Edgeworth atop him…joined at the lips, no less. Before he could figure things out though, the other boy was picking himself up and dusting his clothes off, looking extremely uncomfortable. That's when Larry ran up to them, and he remembered the piece of dark pink –Miles always insisted it was magenta- fabric in his hand._

"_Wow, Edgy! Great tackle!!" Larry enthused appreciatively, giving the other a hard pat on the back._

_Miles winced slightly, and Phoenix wondered if he'd injured anything._

"_Hey… Miles, you alright?" he asked with more than a little concern._

"_Huh? Oh… Yes, I'm fine," came the reply as a hand reached up to grip the elbow of his other arm._

_Phoenix had noticed that the gesture usually meant his silver-gray-haired friend was nervous, and he wondered why. However, instead of asking a question he highly doubted he'd get an answer to, since the same gesture had also been generally observed to mean that Miles was disinclined to talk, he simply held out the bowtie in his hand. "Here. You can have it back now, I guess."_

_The other boy nearly snatched it out of his hand before pausing, probably contemplating putting it back on, and pocketing it._

_There would have been a moment of awkward silence had Larry not suddenly cut in. "Oh hey, Nick! You remember your lines for the drama club play yet?"_

_Phoenix brightened considerably at that. He loved plays. "Oh yeah! I've memorized some of them. Oh, oh! There's that part where the two main characters swear eternal friendship under a peach tree!"_

"_The one Miss Chang said was based on this actual historical event in China where 3 famous generals swore brotherhood in a peach garden, right?"_

"_Yeah! Hey… We should do that too!"_

"_Yeah! Friends forever, right?" Larry chimed in with a grin._

"_Mmhm!" Phoenix looked around. "Ah, that cherry tree at the corner!! That'll do!" He held out his hands to his friends, watching as Larry cheerfully took one and Miles somewhat more hesitantly took the other, before leading them to the tree. "Here. It says we're supposed to kneel down."_

_They did. Larry was taking it in good humor; Miles looked like he didn't know why he was even agreeing to reenact a scene from a play, but he was playing along, at least, and that was enough._

"_Should we swear eternal friendship or brotherhood, do you think?" the blond asked suddenly, still grinning._

"_Friendship!" Miles interjected sharply at that, drawing a mystified look from even Larry. "Uh…"_

"_Well, I guess we could always just change the lines a bit…" he acceded, confused at his friend's strange urgency. Still, if that was what he preferred, he'd just have to improvise as he went along. "Well, repeat after me now, okay?" He closed his eyes to remember the lines and took a deep breath for solemnity. "We Phoenix Wright, Miles Edgeworth and Larry Butz…now bind ourselves as lifelong friends…that we may with one heart and united strength…resolve each other's difficulties and support each other in danger. We ask not for the same year, month and day of birth, but wish for the same year, month, and day of death. May…God…inspect our hearts, and…if we ignore righteousness or forget kindness, may Heaven and man both strike us down."_

* * *

29th December 2016

It had taken a good long walk down memory lane to remember what Wright meant by "the old place" and to find the event in his memory associated with it. Memory lane, for Miles Edgeworth, was like an obstacle course; there weren't many places he would like to tread upon. Still, even as he pulled his red Mustang into the parking lot near the park and stopped Vivaldi's Four Seasons midway through Autumn to remove the disc, he had to admit that those memories had been pleasant ones. Seeing as shops actually sold 'Thank You' cards and gifts, he figured it would be appropriate to bring something, and had purchased a bottle of peach wine on the way over. It seemed almost silly, but he was rather certain Wright's sentimentalities would appreciate it. When he reached the old cherry tree at the corner, the attorney was already seated at its roots, one leg straightened and the other bent slightly, gazing off into the horizon at the remaining rays of the sun disappearing into the night. The darkening sky was tinted with a warm orange hue, and it was beautiful. Phoenix turned as he approached, probably hearing his footsteps on the grass.

"Edgeworth… Hey…"

"Here," he said simply, holding out the paper bag the bottle of wine was in.

The spiky haired man blinked, taking it from him. "What's this?" He pulled it out and read the label. "Peach wine..? Oh…" He grinned as Miles hesitantly sat down beside him, and set about opening the bottle. "Nice of you to bring drinks."

"I deduced you'd appreciate the thought, if nothing else. Now?"

"Why not? It's not one of those corked bottles, so we won't need a cork opener."

"I didn't bring glasses…"

The cap was removed, and Phoenix drank a mouthful straight from the bottle before passing it to him.

"…This isn't beer, Wright…" Miles grumbled, but took the bottle and drank anyway. The wine was sweet and fragrant, still slightly chilled from the store's refrigerator.

The other just laughed at that, but otherwise said nothing, leaning back against the trunk of the tree they'd once sworn eternal friendship under fifteen years ago.

A long moment of silence passed before Miles finally asked, "How much?"

"Huh?" Phoenix turned to look at him, confused, taking the offered bottle back.

The prosecutor found himself gripping his right elbow again as he spoke. "Your fees, Wright. Surely you didn't think I'd ask you to defend me pro bono."

Bright blue eyes seemed suddenly soft at that as their owner took another swig of wine. "I… I never really thought about it…" the other admitted quietly.

"Wright…"

"Look, if it makes you feel that bad, I'll go to the office tomorrow and check what Mia normally charged before sending you a bill, alright?"

Miles nodded, looking away. "Thank you." He winced internally. Surely he could do better than that after all that had happened in the last three days. He tried again. "I mean… for… believing… in me… when I couldn't even believe in myself."

He looked up to find his courtroom rival looking at him with a gentle smile as he held out the bottle to him. "You're welcome. It's what I set out to do as a defense attorney anyway, and I'm glad I've accomplished it, although this wasn't quite how I'd envisioned doing so."

Now it was Miles' turn to be confused even as he took the bottle from the other.

Seeing his perplexed expression, Phoenix explained. "Do you remember, Edgeworth…Miles…what we said under this tree fifteen years ago?"

He furrowed his brow slightly, searching his memory. "The… Oath of the Peach Garden?" He quaffed a mouthful of the sweet liquid.

"Well, an edited version of it, to be exact. Anyhow, five years ago, I was an Art student at Ivy University. That's when I saw it…you…the newspapers. I couldn't believe it. In all the years in which you'd never replied any of my letters, you had changed so much, too much. I tried to contact you, to find out what had happened to the Miles Edgeworth that I'd once known, but in vain. So I did the only thing I could. I added law as a second degree and resolved to meet you…in court if necessary."

"…Wait, Wright, you're saying you became a defense attorney…for me?" He couldn't be hearing this. Of all reasons, why..?

The sheepish grin returned to the other lawyer's face. "Well… you'd ignored righteousness and forgotten kindness… I had to save you before Heaven and man struck you down, yes?" A pause. "And in doing so, I also found the answer I'd been searching for…what happened to change you."

Miles couldn't remember ever feeling more at a loss than he did in that present moment. "I… I don't… I don't know what to say…"

Phoenix shrugged, prying the bottle from his fingers for another drink, and he bit back a gasp at the sudden contact. "Then don't say anything. It's in the past now." He paused, seeming to think for a moment, and then added, "It's enough for me…that you came here tonight."

The prosecutor took that advice, since he genuinely had no answer to that, leaning back against the tree trunk lost in thought. He noticed then that it was now completely dark, and the only light came from the crescent moon high in the sky. He found himself glancing at his childhood friend out of the corner of his eye every now and then as they continued to pass the bottle between them. After all this time, Phoenix Wright hadn't changed a bit. He was still the same sentimental fool he'd known, the same friend he'd once trusted…still trusted. It was true that he himself had changed…and not for the better, but he knew now that it couldn't go on like this. It was time for him to reevaluate his life. It wasn't as if he could simply give up being a prosecutor, but perhaps he needed some time away to rethink what it really meant to prosecute. He wouldn't be able to face Wright otherwise.

* * *

24th March 2018

"I figured I'd find you here."

Phoenix Wright turned at the sound of the familiar voice. "Edgeworth…"

The prosecutor traced the trunk of the cherry tree absently with his fingertips. "You always were so full of your sentimental ideals…"

"Edgeworth… Why… Why did you come back?" he asked softly as a gentle breeze picked up, scattering and swirling the fallen leaves and petals about their feet almost as if in a dance.

Gray eyes turned upon him then. "You still don't understand?"

He paused. "I'm not even sure why you left. I…never wanted to really think about it."

Miles sighed. "I…just wanted some time away to think, to change… I returned…to show you what you'd taught me about being a lawyer."

"Then… Then what was that suicide note all about?!" he protested. "You could have just gone on vacation or something!"

"Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth chooses death?" His old friend shook his head, a sardonic smile curving those lips. "Wright, Wright… I thought you, of all people, would have understood it…" He was gripping his right elbow tightly again now, looking anywhere but at Phoenix. "It was accurate, was it not? I left to discard my former self, to let Manfred von Karma's protégé die, essentially…"

Phoenix opened his mouth and closed it again. Then… "You… Ugh!" he let out a grunt of frustration, closing the distance between them to grab at magenta shoulders, unable to decide whether to strangle the other with his uppity cravat or to shake the living daylights out of him. What he ended up doing, however, was quite different. Somehow, he found himself hugging the prosecutor tightly.

"Wright..?" Miles checked, taken aback by the sudden change.

Phoenix pulled back with a nervous smile. "Say, Miles… You still remember that day, don't you?"

_The sun was setting in the horizon as they lay panting side by side on the grass, exhausted from their last game of tag. Larry had left for home just minutes ago, since his house was farther and he had to be back before dinner. They too had to leave soon, but first, they needed to catch their breaths._

"That day?" he echoed.

"Here, in this park… The same one," the attorney clarified.

_It took every second of the long silence that passed between them for Miles to finally work up the courage to speak. "Um… About just now…"_

_Phoenix sat up to look at him, intensifying his anxiety. "Hm?"_

"What about it?" Miles asked, perplexed.

"You can't have forgotten what you did after that…"

_The other boy sat up as well, looking nervously away. "Um… I…" Abruptly, he darted forward, pressing their lips together briefly, and before his stunned friend could even react, he was gone, having ran off home at top speed._

Then Phoenix was reminding him, warm lips pressed softly to his own in a chaste kiss that lasted, in Miles Edgeworth's opinion, many seconds too short. He blinked at the spiky haired man before him, wondering when his hands had ventured to that lean waist, and it was a long moment before he found his voice; even then, it was barely above a hoarse whisper.

"…Wright… What..?"

"I think… I didn't know then, of course, but… I think I've wanted to do this again for fifteen years now," the other admitted sheepishly. When he couldn't find anything to say, Phoenix continued. "I mean… That's why you didn't want to swear brotherhood, right? I remember you wouldn't even look me in the face for days afterwards, and then we pretty much pretended it never happened…"

"Wright," Miles interjected suddenly, feeling a vein popping in his temple.

"What?"

"You… Argh, never mind." And then he was kissing his childhood friend again, more deeply this time, as the sun set upon the empty park.

**The End**

* * *

**A/N:** It bears repeating that feedback is everything. Internet cookies for your thoughts? XD


End file.
